Just as the scruffy Scotswoman shocked the nation with her angelic voice on Britain's Got Talent, nobody expected the budget brand to produce a car this fast and fun

Road Test

Edited by Nick Francis

4 Nov 2017, 19:58

Updated: 6 Nov 2017, 8:49

SUSAN BOYLE is not the most obvious celebrity for a car firm to compare its new motor to.

But that is exactly what happened this week.

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Hyundai i30N is the latest hot hatch from the budget motoring brand

At the launch of the new i30N hot hatch, the gaffer of Hyundai UK, Tony Whitehorn, recalled Simon Cowell sneering at a scruffy, middle-aged Scotswoman as she nervously told the panel she was going to give them a song.

We all know what happened next. In motoring, a good analogy fast becomes a cliche.

So I applaud Tony for finding something original to say. And he makes a valid point.

No one expected the budget brand to produce a car this fast and this fun, just as no one expected Susan Boyle to reveal the voice of an angel.

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No one expected Hyundai to produce a car as fast and fun as the i30N

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The Hyundai i30 costs just £25,000, or £28,000 for the N Performance version

After driving the i30N at the Cadwell Park race track in Lincolnshire, I have come up with a few proper cliches Tony could have used.

It handles like it’s on rails. It’s a lot of motor for the money.

Other manufacturers should be seriously worried.

Amazingly, Hyundai has a hot hatch that can do 0-62 in six seconds and costs £25,000.

The car handles like it’s on rails, offering a lot of motor for the money

This isn’t simply a standard i30 with a feisty engine bolted on.

It is a track-hungry hooligan that happens to bear a passing resemblance to Granny’s i30.

Spending £28,000 for the N Performance version — and you should — buys you 271 horses, with an 18-second overboost function, electronic differential and dampers good enough to make this front-wheel drive feel like AWD.

It has three standard drive modes — Eco, Sport and N — plus a Custom mode to unleash on track days.

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The N version comes with three standard drive modes — Eco, Sport and N — plus a Custom mode to unleash on track days

A quick fact: Hyundai’s five-year warranty covers faults that occur on track days, which is a bold statement of confidence by the Korean firm.

That doesn’t mean Hyundai will fix it for free if you spanner your car into the armco then hand it back.

Anyone who has been to Cadwell Park knows it is a daunting track. But the i30N wasn’t fazed.

It takes just a dab of brakes to settle it before turning in.

Key facts: Hyundai i30N

Price: £27,995

Engine: 2-litre turbo petrol

Economy: 39.8mpg

0-62mph: 6.1 seconds

Top speed: 155mph

Length: 4.5 metres

CO2: 163g/km

Not once did it feel skittish and the steering feedback is possibly the best I have ever experienced.

Behind every great car is a great man or woman. In this case it is Albert Biermann.

He was the brains behind BMW’s M cars for 20 years.

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Our writer gives it ten years before teens are aspiring to drive Hyundais just like this one

Hyundai admits it won’t sell many of the i30N but this is its first stab at a “halo car” showing what it is capable of and eroding misconceptions.

If this first attempt is anything to go by, I give it ten years before teenagers are telling their mates: “I’m gonna drive a Hyundai one day."

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